A silver halide color photographic material is generally subjected to color development and removal of silver to form an image. In the color development step, exposed silver halide grains are developed (reduced) by an aromatic primary amine developing agent and subsequently, the resulting oxidation product reacts with couplers to form a color image.
For example, in case of color paper processing, the development processing is conducted in an alkali bath containing 4-amino-N-ethyl-N-(.beta.-mthanesulfonamidoethyl)-aniline sulfate as an aromatic primary amine developing agent.
Usually, the above-described color developing agent, when formulated into an alkali solution, is readily air-oxidized and extremely deteriorates. Accordingly, a large amount of preservative or a large amount of replenisher is used to maintain the solution composition or the photographic capability.
In recent years, it is being demanded in the art to reduce the environmental load or the amount of wastes and to recycle the material to be thrown away and as a result, reduction of processing chemicals for the above-described color developer and replenishment greatly lowered in the replenishing amount are being aggressively investigated.
However, in order to maintain the photographic capability both in a continuous processing and in a laisured processing, it is the status quo that although the replenishing amount is reduced, the processing chemicals in the replenisher are on the contrary concentrated, thus, the reduction of the processing chemicals is not yet achieved. Further, another problem arises that when low replenishment is practiced, stains and change in the photographic capability due to accumulated components remarkably increase.
As an effective means for overcoming the problems in reducing processing chemicals and practicing low replenishment, it is proposed to incorporate a color developing agent or a precursor thereof into the light-sensitive material as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,507,114, 3,764,328 and 4,060,418, JP-A-56-6235 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") and JP-A-58-192031. However, the aromatic primary amine and its precursor described in these publications are unstable and disadvantageous in that stains are generated during a long-term storage of an unprocessed light-sensitive material or at the time of color development.
Other than the above-described color development method, a method of incorporating a sulfonhydrazide-type compound into a light-sensitive layer is described, for example, in European Patent Applications 0545491A1 and 0565165A1. However, according to this method, a pyrazolidone having high hydrophilicity and reducing property such as 1-phenyl-4-methyl-4-hydroxymethyl-3-pyrazolidone is used, for example, as an auxiliary developing agent in the developer and as a result, the deterioration proceeds upon continuous processing or leisured processing and replenishment in a large amount is required for maintaining the photographic capability. Further, it is found that although the silver development rate is high, the color density is low and the color mixing is conspicuous.
In a conventional method where the color image is formed using a developer containing a color developing agent or an auxiliary developing agent, the reduction of the replenishing amount or discharging amount is limited because the solution stability must be maintained and also, the total use amount of chemicals is not reduced. In practicing the low replenishment, generation of stains or change in photographic capability ascribable to deterioration of the developing agent is readily caused.